Sol FC

"This is what you do. This is what you've been trained to do. You've done it before. You just have to keep a cool head."

A short-form, multi-ending, high-octane race against a ticking clock in the heart of New York City circa 2006.

Can you tread water and work your magic? Or will you sink and drown?

Content warning: Contains scenes of violence, death, and hostage negotiation.

Gritty, realistic, short • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based •

Cover art by: 51581 via Pixabay

Natasha Ramoutar

The sea is calling you. Its voice is getting louder.

Content warning: This game touches on themes of death, grief, implied child neglect, implied child abuse, possession, monsters, deep water, wrongful imprisonment, and wrongful execution

Horror, Mystery • One hour • Choice-based •

David Lee

It's the same old story, really... A low-ranking officer stuck on a doomed spaceship hurtling headlong toward the inescapable gravitational pull of a quantum singularity. Only a perfect storm of systems failures stands between you and your race to find a serviceable life pod. Good luck, Science Officer Cadet Third Class! You're going to need it.

Science Fiction • One hour • Parser-based • Web-based

Sam Dunnachie

You, Johnny Montana, are a cowboy from 1883 inexplicably transported to modern day New York City. The world is a confusing and awful place, but nonetheless one you have to interact with, especially considering your newly cowboy misplaced hat. Explore the world and interact with what you can to try and find a replacement. This game is intened to be replayed. There are multiple different avenues for adventure, and it is up to you which ones you find yourself on each playthrough. The game contains swearing, and is not designed for young children.

Comedy, western, contemporary, replayable • Half an hour • Choice-based •

Travis Moy

The year is 2021. Neo-America is prospering under the stern yet wise direction of President for Life, Gaius Julius Ceasar. 330 million souls live, love, and laugh, all working tirelessly for the glory of the American people! But with light comes darkness. With prosperity comes misery. And with law comes crime. Heinous crimes! Shocking crimes! Cunning crimes! And sometimes, very rarely, crimes so devious, so shadowy, so slippery that only Neo-America's greatest detectives can hope to solve them.

For these crimes, the very worst of crimes, America has a special team. Two individuals, both alike in dignity, in fair DC, where we lay our scene. Their names: Antony and Cleopatra.

He's the Vice President.

She's the Queen of Egypt.

Together, they fight crime!

Note that this is a fully synchronous two-player game and requires two people and internet access to work. You cannot download this game and play it offline, no matter what the button says.

Experimental Multiplayer Murder Mystery • Two hours • Choice-based •

James O'Reilly

Three weeks ago, you received an envelope. It had been pushed under your office door and was marked in ornate script with the words, “Of Greatest Urgency.” Intrigued, you grabbed your trusty sword-shaped letter opener from a cluttered desk drawer and tore into it. Inside, you found the kind of letter that is basically an urban legend in your line of work.

Richard Hawthorne, millionaire art magnate, was retaining your services to investigate a murder. One that had not yet happened. His own. Included was a huge check and a set of security codes to access both the gates of his private community and the back door of his residence, 34 Hush Lane, in the event of his death.

Your assignment: if anything were to happen to him, investigate immediately and determine for certain whether it was due to natural or nefarious causes.

Paranoid or not, the man came to the right place. Your cluttered office and perpetually disheveled look belie a razor sharp analytical mind and expert interrogation skills. Underestimation by others is your secret weapon and allows you to fade into the woodwork, catching clues that others miss. This has made you one of the most successful P.I.s around. You had accepted the job immediately, not expecting to have to follow through so soon.

Download includes a .D64 disk image to run on a Commodore 64 emulator such as VICE or real hardware.

Murder mystery • Longer than two hours • Parser-based •

Ben Kirwin

Today has been an extraordinarily long day. You picked up the keys to your new apartment in the morning, you went shopping for furniture in the afternoon, and you've spent the evening putting it together.

And you're almost finished — there's one box left.

ASSEMBLY is a story of magic and adventure. Can you assemble a small table? Can you save the world from the vengeance of ancient gods?

Content warning: supernatural themes and mild peril

Fantasy / slice of life • An hour and a half • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Felicity_Banks

"Bali B&B" is a cosy choice-based tale of running a Bed & Breakfast in Bali, Indonesia.

There is peril to humans and animals on Friday but your choices will definitely not get anyone or anything killed.

Play online: https://dashingdon.com/play/Felicity_Banks/bali-bb-for-if-comp-2023/mygame/

Real world • An hour and a half • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Ara Carrasco

Víctor Ojuel

Barcarolle in Yellow (1975, released in Italy as "Barcarolla in Giallo"), starring Eva Chantry.

This lurid but stylish Italian thriller is set in Venice during the filming of an eponymous exploitation film, with the lead actress credited as "playing herself". In the day it was critically panned by highbrow critics as "yet another entertainment for those who relish scantily clad ladies being murdered in grisly ways, trippy camerawork and nonsensical plot twists" and relegated to the relative obscurity of other "video nasties".

In the ensuing decades, this giallo has attained cult status, fondly remembered for its bold photography, ambiguous subtext, and of course the tragic circumstances that surrounded the production. Rumours abound about alternative endings that were cut from the theatre version, either by the Italian censors or the American distributor, with bootleg Betamax copies commanding high prices online.

Content warning: Murder, blood, sex, nudity, terrible acting

Giallo • Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx

Robert Patten

The beat witch killed thousands with a thought. Now you venture into a city of death to face her. Flee your pursuers. Save a world that fears you. Stay away from music.

Content warning: This story contains dead bodies and some violence.

Horror • One hour • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Cover art by: Monica (infinityto1) on intfiction--the good stuff is hers, I just superimposed some MSPaint faces

Andrew Schultz

Friends, for ends, or mends (more).

Sixth in my Prime Pro-Rhyme Row series, though it is fully independent of the others.

Option to skip one room with an off-color name and bonus puzzle.

Comedy/surreal • Longer than two hours • Parser-based • Z-code • Download includes additional content

The Reverend

In the beginning, you thought it was a simple nightmare. But then it just didn't stop.

You're trapped in a text-adventure game called "The Incredible Erotic Adventures of Stiffy Makane". Maybe this is your purgatory. Maybe you deserve this.

Official Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7tbJ0Tm3tjIHlmNbKPtojU

Content warning: Sexually explicit language

Sexual comedy • Longer than two hours • Parser-based • Glulx

Mika Kujala

It's the year 1987. As an undercover operative Sinus for the T.U.R.T.L.E organization, (Tactical Unit for Rapid and Thorough Lethal Espionage), you have recently been assigned to a task in Italy. A few weeks ago, your colleague, operative Onyx, was sent to Aurelia, a small village in Northern Italy. His task was to gather intelligence and uncover the dealings of the enigmatic Count Schwarzberg. Rumored to be entangled with crime organizations, including the infamous Italian mafia, the Count's activities have so far remained veiled in secrecy.

Your boss, Ember, has recently received a backup and assistance request from agent Onyx. So they need *you* now, operative Sinus, to be urgently redirected to Aurelia to assist and evaluate the situation.

NOTE: This game uses intentionally retro-style, small resolution images and limited color palette. The idea is to release a web-based (HTML) version of the game for this competition. But it has been developed in Adventuron 8-bit compatibility mode, so it would be possible to translate and release it also to the ZX Spectrum Next computer at some point later. I developed the very first version of the game back in the year 1987. but it never got released, in any form, because it became much too demanding for the ZX Spectrum 48K memory.

Content warning: While intended to be fun and recreational, this game does include some amount of kicking, and there is even one dead body. So, not suitable for small children.

Mystery, espionage, languages, 8-bit retro-style • One hour • Parser-based • Web-based

dott. Piergiorgio

Railei, a world hundreds of thousands of years and light years away...

In the small town of Luroz is the eve of the Harvesting Festival, a young (that is, 80 years old) fey has just ended the preparation for a dinner with friends, and all remains to do is cooking, but the snafu is always lying in ambush...

A short teaser trailer, sequel of an unreleased WIP, presenting a first look into the interesting world of Railei. It's also the second IFComp entry written with Magx, released with its source code, perhaps the lone actual worked Magx source.

Friendly warning: there's a WC ;)

Fantasy, teaser trailer • An hour and a half • Parser-based •

Daniel M. Stelzer

You'd had such high hopes, starting out. And now you're limping home, tail between your legs, as all your plans for a new life crashed and burned. You barely had enough money to arrange an airship home, an old freighter that needed extra hands on short notice. You thought that would be the end of it.

But now the man who hired you on—the only one on the crew who spoke your language—is dead, and they think your brother did it. If you don't find some way to prove him innocent before the ship lands, he's going to spend the rest of his life rotting in a Kishadu prison.

All you have to do is escape from your cabin, figure out what really happened on this ship, and prove it to the crew…who can't understand a word you say. You have no idea how you're going to manage it. But you're Kiang's last hope. You have to try.

Content warning: This is a murder mystery, which includes genre-typical discussion of death, but no blood or gore. Some mentions of drugs.

Mystery • An hour and a half • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Joey Acrimonious

Wherein a bat-themed monster lady goes on a felonious adventure to obtain a special birthday present for her beloved.

Content warning: This game contains depictions of sexual activity, violence, drug use, rude language, and various objectionable behaviors and unpleasant events. It should be played only by adults. A more detailed content warning is available in-game.

Fantasy/Erotica • Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx

Cover art by: Illustration: Kama Mielczarek

Adam Burt

You are Osiris, the recently deceased king of Egypt. And it's time to investigate your own murder.

Question the gods! Interrogate the Egyptian pantheon, to piece together the details of your death.

Search ancient streets for clues! From Waset to Sepermeru, travel through primordial cities to find evidence.

Basic puzzles! As you hunt down your killer to make them face judgement, you'll be free to complete your investigation in any order, unlocking new conversation options with characters as you go. Use your observational skills and complete light riddles will help you catch the killer.

From the bank of the River Nile, to the heavens above, DETECTIVE OSIRIS is an explorable re-imagining of Ancient Egyptian mythology, with a light noir twist. Featuring art by Kama Mielczarek, and music by Mycelium Music. Playtested by Ben Joy and Taya Beleanina.

Content warning: Injury detail, sex references, drug references, alcohol references

Historical Fantasy • One hour • Choice-based •

Hubert Janus

It's exactly what it sounds like.

Content warning: flashing images, crude humour, testicular trauma, Hitler

Humour • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based •

SV Linwood

Join esteemed mad scientist Dr Ludwig as he faces the greatest challenge of his nefarious career: making a deal with the Devil and coming out on top.

Research demonology! Read legal documents! Face off against the world’s least effective torch and pitchfork-wielding mob! All this and more!

Comedy • One hour • Parser-based • Glulx

Allyson Gray

Sometimes talking is easier said than done.

One hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Annette Köhn

Olaf Nowacki

You are Jun Do, captain on the fish processing ship Tataki. Your crew is not only new to you, they are also quite strange. And your destination is Point Nemo, the furthest place on earth from any coast...

The song "Star Ocean" by Rainer Torres is included in the game - courtesy of the artist.

Content warning: This game is not suitable for children and has creepy elements. There is some violence and alcohol consumption.

Horredy • Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

jkj yuio

Amidst the stars, Solaris stands as a beacon of human achievement and discovery. A space station dedicated to unravelling the universe's deepest secrets, it has been a centre of groundbreaking research.

But now, Solaris faces a crisis. A mysterious power loss threatens to destabilise its orbit hurling the station into the planet below, jeopardising thousands of lives.

Agent Elara Grey, a master trouble shooter, is sent on a perilous mission to Solaris. As she delves into the heart of the station's secrets, she'll grapple with the consequences of obsession, the balance between knowledge and humanity, and the ultimate choice between saving lives and unlocking the cosmos.

Sci-Fi • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based • Web-based

Cover art by: Gina Fringante

Georg Buchrucker

Here a serious topic is presented in a funny way. The goal is to both entertain and inform those willing to play. You have to escape your psychosis by finding one of the two endings. Otherwise you are stuck in the loop. Best played in a pdf reader like acrobat. Playing it in the browser, leads to malfunctions. This game is translated from German language. It will be printed for charitable purposes and is a non-commercial project.

Mental health • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Deborah Sherwood

Deborah Sherwood

You've been hired to recover a priceless Egyptian artifact from a traveling antique show. Security is tight and the officer in charge has a history with you. Explore the show, find the artifact, avoid the officers and snatch the prize before some one else does. Oh, and you might fall in love along the way. Includes game stats and gender choices.

Half an hour • Choice-based •

Geoffrey Golden

Fix Your Mother’s Printer is a "family sim" visual novel where what you say changes the story and your relationship with your mom.

It’s Sunday afternoon and your mother is calling you on Swoon, the video conferencing app specifically for moms. She’s having a tech emergency and you’re the only one who can help! Will you be the golden child and fix her out-of-pocket printer? Make fun of her and watch her fume? What kind of adult child do you want to be? Remember, it's not just a printer. It's an emotional journey.

Slice of Life Comedy • Half an hour • Choice-based •

TheChosenGiraffe

Two lovers. A hero, who's reborn over and over into a new life. A higher being that must love and lose again and again. The cracks start to form as the Universe keeps them from living happily together. Includes: -2 Routes -4 Endings

Content warning: Death, violence, gore

Fantasy, romance, adventure • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Ruo

Ruo

Welcome to the 5th annual broadcasted gaming competition known as GameCeption, where you compete in duos to win real money!

This year, it seems like the producers are shaking up the format to something a little more exciting and a little more...high-stakes, we shall say.

Content warning: Mild flashing images and text, some coarse language

Action, thriller • Half an hour • Choice-based •

Charm Cochran

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was a British painter, infamous for his use of brutal imagery and distortions of the human face and body. Well-known for both his violent subject matter and cutting wit, he is commonly considered one of the most important artists of the Twentieth Century.

This story is not about him.

Content warning: Intended for mature audiences. Content warnings can be found in-game.

Meditation • Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx

Cover art by: Elanor Pam

Xavid

If you’re gonna get your heart broke, you’d better do it just right…

It’s the middle of the night and you’re trying to pack your things. But can you really bring yourself to walk through the door? And how did it come to this? If only you had three mysterious poets to help you figure things out…

The Gift of What You Notice More is a surreal escape-room-esque puzzle-based Twine game about memories and choices.

Content warning: relationship troubles

Surreal escape room • Two hours • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Maggie McMahon

Brett Witty

Ruby Walker takes a hesitant bus ride to the hospital where her father has spent the last nine months. But he has not called her there to discuss his condition. With James, her supportive partner by her side, Ruby is about to discover a deeply personal project decades in the making.

Dive into this intimate tale spanning IF platforms (Twine and TADS 3), all within your browser.

Content warning: Terminal illness, divorce, very mild rough language

Choice- and parser-based, slice of life • An hour and a half • Web-based

Older Timer

You've spent a lifetime travelling and solving problems for others, but on this occasion have you bitten off a little bit more than you can chew? Where will you find that elusive orb, or has The Council's faith in you been misplaced?

'Have Orb, Will Travel' is a text-only interactive fiction fantasy game, very much in the 'old-school' style. It was written from the ground up for the PC using qBasic64, and has a comprehensive and powerful parser. Included in the game are detailed HELP instructions, and it also has comprehensive hints, both implicit and explicit, which can be accessed using the command HINT.

It is written for Windows on the PC, but can also be run on MacOS using Cross Over or on Linux using WINE.

Fantasy Adventure • Two hours • Parser-based • Windows executable

Handsome McStranger

Hawkstone: A retro TRS-80 adventure with extras for modern day adventurers.

Combining old school text adventures with RPG elements, opening up a deeper world of discovery options and choices for the player. Hawkstone has traditional puzzles to solve with new twists, comedy, and an underlying fantasy story with secrets to discover.

Two hours • Parser-based • Windows executable

Lacey Green

(To be updated)

Synopsis: Your glasses are missing, and it reeks of a cruel prank to your dependence on them. You have your suspects. Now it’s only a matter of time before you unmask them. Will you find your glasses, and see what’s hidden in their heart?

Slice of life • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Alex Harby

Alex Harby

A berserker's at the circus, and they're ruining everyone's performances! And all you have to stop them is a stack of custard pies, a squeaky red nose and your own wits. But the show must go on!

Comedy • Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

John Ziegler

It was supposed to be really straightforward: take the king's mollycoddled heir under your capable wing, get him away from the castle, and turn him into Noble Ruler material within the space a year or so.

Well, you still have to do that... but thanks to the limerick-loving prince's romantic attachment to a princess with an unwilling father, now it sounds like the agenda includes investigating old legends that speak of a haunted fastness in the North—legends that might lead you all the way to the Overworld.

So much the better! This new twist should provide plenty of challenge and adventure for you to ply the pampered prince with along the way; and fortunately, you have an ample amount of time to accomplish your objectives and try to shape the prince into something more—as he would say—*feckful*…

(Author highly recommends playing with QTads interpreter; otherwise, content/features are missing and formatting may be unsightly. 2-hour estimated play time applies to standalone intro/warmup game... full game is much larger.)

Light pseudo-medieval fantasy • Two hours • Parser-based • TADS

Cover art by: William DePaula

M.A. Shannon

Tonight's your big night, Mx. Soon-To-Be Superstar and nothing will stand in your way. You've had everything planned out for the last year leading up to now, and with all the big names coming to tonight's concert, you cannot wait to put your musical talents to bear and finally live a life of luxury. Nothing will stop you, not even the Devil Himself...?

Content warning: Death, dismemberment, religious mention, verbal abuse, mentions of drug use.

Contemporary, Horror, Humor • Half an hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Alexas Fotos

Metalflower

The Serengeti, a 30,000 square kilometre Savannah wilderness in Tanzania, Eastern Africa. It's not your natural habitat. Your jeep, a square box with a messed up engine perched dead centre in that wilderness is not a lion's natural habitat. Luckily, you have options.

Content warning: Talk of killing, carnivores and histories of animal cruelty..as much as animal rescue, and wild love.

Hypothetical Reality drama • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Vera Pohl

By anonymous, artwork by Vera Pohl

You're still the only one whom she takes to bed with her.

Content warning: Rated 16+

One hour • Choice-based •

B.J. Best

═════════════════════════════

LAKE Adventure!

By Eddie Hughes

Copywrong 1993

* * *

Revisited by Ed Hughes

March 2020

═════════════════════════════

Two hours • Parser-based • Web-based

SummersViaEarth

You are young and female and coming-of-age on a planet in utter chaos--its people on a path to ecocide and self-destruction. Magic runs in your blood, but you're just a kid and you're stuck in a toxic little town with no way out. Except...today you wake up to new choices. Will you learn to harness your inner magic or sleepwalk through your planet’s darkest days?

Character Art by Artkblo.

YA Fantasy, coming-of-age story. • An hour and a half • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Matt Wang

Daniel Gao

This Valentine's Day feels an awful lot like Groundhog Day...

You find yourself in an inexplicable time loop, reliving the same day over and over again. Can you find a way to stop your lover from leaving you?

Fantasy, romance, story-driven • Half an hour • Choice-based •

thesleuthacademy

Hertfordshire Avenue. A body.

Inspector Knapp is asking for your help. Will you use your powers of deduction to find out what happened to the victim?

Content warning: Contains material inappropriate for young children, given the typical descriptions expected in a crime scene.

Mystery, Puzzle, Detective • An hour and a half • Parser-based • Glulx

Cover art by: Li Cheng - 晴巒蕭寺圖

Elle Sillitoe

Peruse an ancient library in which all learnt things reside, including Shaanxi - the omniscient spirit of knowledge. Shaanxi offers you three interweaving tales, one of which is yours. Discover where you came from, why you came, and why the world will never be the same after you leave.

This story contains mystical beasts, menacing pirates, a journey across the world, and one lovely little goat.

Content warning: Contains scenes of violence, illness, and death.

Historical / Fantasy • Longer than two hours • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Ryan Veeder

Ryan Veeder

A touching epic time travel fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Cover art by: Matthew Hamilton

Ayu Sekarlangit Mokoginta

After your estranged sister's death, you face difficulty sorting through her personal belongings. As you navigate your grief through these objects, you begin to reminisce about old times and learn about her life years after she left. Where can you find your sister? Who was she through all those years?

(The game contains topics such as grief and death)

Slice of life • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based •

James Blair

A thought-provoking tale of friendship under fire; The Long Kill is an Interactive Novel that places readers in the shoes of "Mister", a prodigious sniper in the British army. Lying prone in the scorching desert sun, your rifle plays guardian angel to a patrol performing a risky house to house search.

Make the calls both big and small that will impact the soldier's life forever. Wind estimates, sight adjustments, moral judgements and luck all have their part to play in shaping the outcome of his final mission.

With three experiences of varying difficulty and a variety of outcomes based on your actions, The Long Kill charges you with setting the trajectory of Mister's life.

Content warning: This entry contains descriptions of violence, torture and in some instances allusions to suicide.

Interactive Novel - Thriller • One hour • Choice-based • Web-based

Ben Jackson

You wake to find yourself trapped in a room filled with locks and strange contraptions. A killer has locked you in here and unless you can escape soon and bring them to justice they will surely strike again.

But who did this to you? Identifying the murderer may hold the key to your escape and hidden somewhere are the clues you need to set yourself free. The evidence points to a list of suspects; could it be 'The Politician’ or 'The Inventor’? Perhaps it's 'The Painter’ or 'The Schemer’?

Time is running out. Uncover the clues, unlock the chains and solve the mystery!

Features:

Specially created art including items, locations and notes that help bring this Victorian-era story to life.

Unique visual puzzles that will challenge your detective skills. Also includes a helpful hint system.

Detective / Mystery / Escape room • One hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Funkwood

Larry Horsfield

You are Magor, court sorcerer to King Kelson Haldane, the young king of the kingdom of Hecate. You are in your chambers, having just had a herald bring the news that the king and Duke Alaric Blackmoon have arrived back from their journey to the Great Sand Sea to investigate reports of Xixon lizardmen being seen down there.

The herald also told you, most unusually, that Kelson & Alaric will be coming to see YOU instead of you having to go to the king's audience chamber and that the visit will be informal, so no bowing will be required. You wonder what tales they will have to tell you?

"Fancy that," you think to yourself. "The king coming to see me!"....

Fantasy • An hour and a half • Parser-based •

Ronynn ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

Are you ready to challenge your professor's ideas on what makes good merit?

- Explore the depths of philosophical thought in this immersive game where you must debate with your professor on the nature of merit.

- Engage in a battle of wits and see if you have what it takes to come out on top.

- Will you be able to convince them of your ideas?

Debate • Half an hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Max Fog

Max Fog

In Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, every step you take has an equal probability of sending you over the edge of perilous cliff drops or spinning into the stratosphere. But before that all happens, you have a choice: should you hitchhike the galaxy, or stay home and drink beer?

Oh, right. Your home was destroyed ages ago. I guess there's only one way to go then.

As the game begins, you find yourself on the ramp leading from the hatchway down to the surface of the legendary lost planet of Magrathea. Soon, you will find yourself exploring dead planets, escaping white mice, navigating the fjords of Norway, and of course - at Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe!

Zarfian Cruelty Rating: Cruel. But don't fret; built-in hints are available!

Science fiction comedy • Longer than two hours • Parser-based • Z-code

qrowscant

People die, and sometimes they come back. Your brother is one of those. Even as his body rots and his mind unravels, he still has control over you— just like when you were kids.

A story about a corpse, a complicated sibling relationship, and the things we forget.

Content warning: flashing, eyestrain, body horror, descriptions of physical abuse, implied assault, implied drug/alcohol abuse

Familial Horror • Half an hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Naomi Norbez (with public domain/CC0 images)

Naomi Norbez (call me Bez, he/they)

If you want a swashbuckling adventure game, or exciting puzzles to solve, then I apologize, but this game doesn't have that. This Twine contains a museum, which consists of items notable to me during my long period of mental health recovery. I wanted to share my journey in some form or fashion, and this Twine is the result.

This game is a museum, so treat it as such. Peruse slowly. Stop and listen to the music. Linger on an exhibit that you like. Exit whenever you feel ready to. And do leave your name in the guestbook, won't you?

Content warning: This game explores my personal experience with a serious health crisis that affected me physically & mentally. I discuss my terrible mental health at the time, including my intense suicidal ideation & depression. See more in game.

Autobiography • Two hours •

Cover art by: Image based on "Ring of Fire" by Brunello Panucci (used under a CC-BY license), plus a CC-0 picture of onion rings.

Stewart C Baker and James Beamon

One Ring of onion and flour, One Ring that's frying, One Ring to bring them all, and to the menu bind them...

~ ~ ~

It's the Great Godstone Fry-Off, and Tira Misu has gathered chefs and celebrities from all the Twelve Mostly Civilized Realms for a no-holds-barred cooking challenge at the base of Mount Boom.

Face off against the likes of Marcher, Argyle the Chefromancer, Sour Ron, Friar Fryest, and a surprisingly skilled loaf of bread. Choose between four playable characters, with tactics including confusion, violence, sabotage, bribery, and even (to everybody's lasting shock) actual cooking!

No matter what approach you take, you'll face stiff competition as tensions rise and fall around you like overmixed pancake batter. Will you craft the perfect Ring of Onion and usher in a new age of peace, prosperity, and delicious crispiness—or fall to the black eyeliner and fiery theatrics of Másgoth, the mostly-vanquished ancient godking bent on sending all the Realms hurtling back to the Worst Age?

~ ~ ~

(The first playthrough takes roughly 30-45 minutes, depending on your reading speed. Playing through a couple of times is recommended for the full Fry-Off experience!)

Content warning: strong language, comic violence, occasional adult themes

Fantasy / comedy / baking • One hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: RION

Onno Brouwer

In the old free days, all you needed was a sharp sword and a straight path to your enemies. Overthrowing the old dynasty was easy enough, but you quickly learned that as a King, no path was straight, and your sword was useless. Now, an old enemy has sent you this abomination through a magical portal, and you face death. You feel alive once more.

You hear your blood sing in your ears, and you crave vengeance. Vengeance upon the dark sorcerer who sent this creature that killed your priestess, Lydia, into the very heart of your kingdom. It is time to take the fight to him. You are the Barbarian. You are the King. You are...

ONE KING TO LOOT THEM ALL.

Includes a story mode and hints!

This game uses custom commands. Consult the Player Primer available through the Walkthrough button below.

Content warning: Fantasy Violence

Fantasy • An hour and a half • Parser-based • Glulx

A. Hazard

It's another humdrum day as the weekend winds to its inevitable end. The pandemic has stretched on for a decade now. A new serial killer stalks the streets. A ghost haunts your dreams. And your polo club is waiting. Exactly as expected.

Just ignore the sounds in your living room. Just ignore that shadow scuttling across the floor. Just ignore the lies of the 'friend' whose known you for years. He's lying. She's lying. That stranger on the street is lying. And the voices whispering in your mind are definitely lying. Even this blurb is lying.

But that's fine...

Y̸̷̶̷̸̷̷̷̥͑̅̌̔̉ͯo̼̩̖̓ͪ̽͢ǔ̢͢͏̫͕͋'͎̬́͐ͥ᷇͢r̉͏͍̾᷉̓̓e͓͕ͦ̿᷅͆͠ l̜̻̈̅̃͢͞y̡̬͙̪̦̦ͧi̘᷅̓͒̐̍͑n̰͈᷅ͯͥͨ͜g̯᷾̒̑᷄̕͟ t̶̙͍̏͊᷈͠o̙̟ͦ̏̄ͭ͂ő̶͎̘̝̂

Content warning: Violence, Language, Mature Themes, Body Horror, Mind Control

Dark Urban Fantasy • Longer than two hours • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Drew Castalia

Drew Castalia

Zoe and her brother Joe grew up close. Too close, according to their parents.

Their parents would go far to protect society. Too far, according to their children.

"Out of Scope" is about which forms of love and violence our society condones, and which it condemns. It follows the downfall of the Carnation family, and your effort to put it into perspective.

Content warning: Violence

Political romance • Two hours • Choice-based •

Cover art by: infinityto1

Doug Egan

Sure, I know Quidditch: expensive and impossibly complex game played by fictional wizards at an imaginary boarding academy. The guys in my house (frat house, that is) came from marginal high schools where we were afraid to identify as wizards to our non-magical classmates. Here in college we’ve formed our brotherhood. The sport we pursue on Saturdays away from campus is mystic paintball.

Learn spells, hang with the brothers, compete for the title of Paintball Wizard.

Content warning: PG equivalent frat-house humor, depictions of (non-fatal) physical injury, episodic memories of family loss and deprivation.

Comic puzzler • Two hours • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Soojung Choi

Soojung Choi

“The cat leapt for the star.” Every time I conjured a cat and a star from the words I penned on paper, I found myself more and more like the cat. Longing for something bright and hopeful, but forever out of my reach.

Until one night when I dreamed for the first time… I met someone who promised to help me escape.

This is the story of a test subject, their encounter with a spirit, and their escape from a mysterious lab.

Speculative Fiction, Fantasy • One hour •

Cover art by: XLEHX

Road

Jackie Parker's life gets turned upside down after getting involved in a fatal car accident with her best friend. Now, Jackie's signature has been showing up at murder sights across the area and she has to think back to who could have done it. You have to prove Jackie's innocence, or, are you willing to throw someone else under the bus?

Get to click and play through different scenarios as a coffee barista to see if anyone you had came across could be the true culprit behind it. Figure out the mystery to who might have decided to frame Jackie or, if Jackie is as innocent as she seems.

Content warning: Distressing themes of racism, police corruption, stalking, mentions/indications of self-harm, and toxic behaviors

Suspense, Mystery • One hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: The Hungry Reader

The Hungry Reader

The world’s most beloved puppeteer has died under mysterious circumstances. His legacy must be preserved! Hunt your way through his studio and talk to seven different puppets to learn the truth and protect Mal Newsome’s honor.

Mascot horror • Choice-based •

Cover art by: José de Ribera

Yakoub Mousli

Sways of an artist's delicate spirit. An 82 year old sculptor with no achievements to his name or a penny in his pocket now seeks to make the masterpiece of his dreams before his life fades.

Content warning: Occasional profanity

Experimental, Self-Reflection, Echoes of Life • 15 minutes or less •

Cover art by: Cecilia Dougherty

Cecilia Dougherty

Eurasia, 40,000 years ago. As the story begins, a band of Cro-Magnons have just invaded a nearby Neanderthal camp, falsely claiming that the Neanderthals were planning to steal meat, skins and ivory from the Cro-Magnon mammoth hunt. The Cro-Magnons visit the Neanderthal camp with the intent of chasing them out of the territory. As they approach the camp with axes and knives, their rage gets the better of them and they end up murdering every Neanderthal in sight.

You, the reader, are a young Neanderthal woman named Haizea. You have escaped the massacre and are on the run with your son, Eneko, and your Cro Magnon partner, Esti. Esti's best friend, Oihana,is coming with you. Your goal is to reach Shanidar, your ancestral homeland. Follow the story and meet the characters from the Deep Past by choosing links at the end of each story passage as the group of early humans makes their way from what is now southern France to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Speculative Fiction, Prehistory • One hour • Choice-based •

Cover art by: DALL·E 2

Sotiris Niarchos

It is the year 1719. A Captain embarks on an extraordinary voyage into the unknown, guided solely by a cryptic poem passed down as an unexpected family heirloom. A fabled promised land beckons, but as the Captain inches closer to their elusive destination, a series of extraordinary events unfold, prompting a profound reevaluation of identity and potential. Do they really know who they are? Who they could have been? What truly awaits at the journey's end? And what formidable challenges must the Captain surmount to reach it?

Embark on a journey through a meticulously crafted universe teeming with enthralling characters and a richly developed world. Prepare to unravel a unique mystery with intricate puzzles, lifelike personalities, each with a different story to tell, and a tapestry of interconnected events. Will you manage to piece together the greater picture? Are you prepared for what or who you’ll find at the end of the line? Or for what comes after?

Content warning: strong language, violence

Pirates, scifi, mystery, puzzles, achievements • Longer than two hours • Choice-based •

AKheon

A lonely farmstead... A troubling situation... No easy answers.

This is a parser-based sandbox horror adventure with multiple endings. It takes place in the setting of Ascension of Limbs, but it's intended to be a stand-alone story that doesn't require any foreknowledge. Contains scenes some may find disturbing.

Horror • One hour • Parser-based • Glulx

Cover art by: Cover art by Howard Pyle. Image acquired from Wikimedia Commons. Graphic design by J. J. Guest.

J. J. Guest

Peter Petibon, cabin boy, hath a problem. He be goin' down — to Davy Jones locker, by the powers! Lest he seize the booty o' the dread pyrate Booby, and heave it all o'erboard, he and the Cap'n both will be hors d'oeuvres for the sharks. But what be in that mysterious sea-chest? Do beavers eat boats? And what, i' the devil's name be THE DREADED "YATEVEO" TREE? All o' these questions, an' more besides, will be answered when ye play "To Sea in a Sieve", a one-room game by J. J. Guest.

Pyratical yarn • Two hours • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Andrew Schultz

A surreal, small treasure hunt with bumpers. Lots of them.

Comedy/surreal • Half an hour • Choice-based •

Pseudavid

Some year not too far, in a foggy morning just before sunrise, a normal girl takes a normal walk in a normal forest.

One hour • Choice-based • Web-based

Arthur DiBianca

A light dungeon crawl. Tap spell gems to defeat monsters!

Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Cover art by: Chris Halls

Oliver Revolta

(Satire. 45 minutes)

Middle-aged Gloria knows she’s made it: finally she has it all—kids at a posh school, a house in a posh town, and her confidence, shaky for so long, in a place that befits her new upper-middle-class lifestyle. Unfortunately, the universe has other ideas than letting her settle. When she’s out walking her beautiful Border Collie pup Clio along the equally-beautiful canal, she stumbles on an incident that tests her new-found composure and sends her on a self-righteous path of utterly ludicrous foundations. (“Someone has been caught doing what now on the canal !?”). She’s quick to blame the easy targets, and equally as slow to scrutinise her own family.

You’ve seen and read superhero origin stories.

This is an off-beat origin story of a shameful MP.

Content warning: This game isn't suitable for young kids. I imagine it might have a 15 rating if it was in the cinema. The plot revolves around an 'off-screen' but openly discussed sexual element, which is really a satirical reference to self-indulgence.

Satire • One hour • Choice-based • Web-based

Cover art by: Tassneen Bashir

Camron Gonzalez

You wake up. You're falling. A ceaseless sky and a never ending cyclone greets you. Others fall all around you. No where else to go but down.

Content warning: Profanity

Fantasy; Surreal • 15 minutes or less • Choice-based •

Cover art by: Sylvie Parzybok

Ben Parzybok

You appear to have been swallowed by a whale. Expect to find wonders and horrors, mythical and real, inside the cavernous belly of the greatest mammal on Earth. Fortunately, you’re a cetologist.

This story is delivered via Plotopolis - at this point, a proof-of-concept interactive fiction journal that publishes to chat platforms - which was written in concert with this story.

Content warning: Some threads contain (accidental) violence, others talk about suicide.

Literary / speculative • Half an hour • Choice-based • Web-based

Milo van Mesdag

The year is 1938, two newcomers have just arrived at their new home: a communal appartment in Moscow, the beating heart of Soviet power. But what will they make of their new lives? And what will their neighbours make of them? The Whisperers is a story of love, revolution, belief, and the choices oridnary people make in extraordinary times.

Or: the year is 1938 and you have arrived at your local soviet sponsored theatre, ready for a play lauded by the agents of the Department of Agitation and Propoganda as "the first truly socialist play", in which the audience, the people, decide the course of events.

Or: The Whisperers is a script for an interactive play, loosely adapted into a piece of written interactive fiction (while also featuring an annotated version for the ease of use of prospective directors and actors).

Content warning: Physical violence. Mention of executions. Mention of Holodomor (genocide by engineered famine).

Play, romance, historical, politcal. • One hour • Choice-based • Web-based

Damon L. Wakes

The mayor has only been missing for about an hour, but Mrs. McFreeze has good reason for concern: her husband left to attend some business at the old taffy factory with the notorious Don Toblerone, and she fears he's got himself into a sticky situation. Naturally she calls upon Bubble Gumshoe - Sugar City's premiere private eye - to check up on him.

But unfortunately for the mayor, Bubble Gumshoe comes too late. And Unfortunately for Bubble Gumshoe, the killer is there when she arrives. Locked in the abandoned building - with a demolition charge set for 9am the next day - she must use all her cunning to sniff out the building's secrets so she can once again taste freedom, all while chewing over...

...who iced Mayor McFreeze?

Thanks to Brett Witty, felix, Dave Diamond and Matt Campbell for playtesting.

Content warning: violence, sex, drug use and cannibalism, all involving colourful candy characters.

Mystery • Half an hour • Parser-based • Glulx • Download includes additional content

Charles Moore

You’re typically a sober-minded upstanding elf but last night you were out a little too late and had a little too much mead. This morning you woke up wedged in a tree in the woods outside of town with a splitting headache. Thanks to your late-night escapades, though, you luckily avoided the previous night’s calamity when a powerful witch swept in and snatched away all the other elves in your village. Now, you’re the only one left to save them. Time is short, however, for the the witch is lurking and she’ll be back at sunset for any stragglers.

Fantasy • Longer than two hours • Parser-based • Z-code • Download includes additional content

Cover art by: Guillaume Rouillé

Victor Gijsbers

It's your last night together, for literal fuck's sake, but your husband is 'not in the mood'. Can you convince him to fulfil his marital duties?

And will that bring any solace at all?

Romance • Half an hour • Choice-based •